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Writer's pictureBrian Maurer

Northeast Ohio Homeowners Tackling Backyard Projects Big and Small : Brian-Kyles In The News

Updated: Feb 20


Lorain Morning Journal Features Brian-Kyles Landscapes of Distinction


The Lorain Morning Journal featured Brian-Kyles Landscapes of Distinction in an article about outdoor living and landscaping trends. Here is an excerpt.


Outdoor Living: Amid pandemic, homeowners tackling backyard projects big and small


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landscape renovation

History books will record 2020 as the year of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Landscapers may record it as the year of the backyard renaissance.


Government leaders and health experts advised people to avoid spreading or contracting COVID-19 by staying at home. When they did there was time to tackle outdoor projects people had intended for years, or to think of new ones.


What do you want?

Outdoor living spaces can include amenities such as gazebos or attached structures with fireplaces, heaters, television with surround sound systems, WiFi, grills electrical outlets and multiple floor levels said Kate Adams, executive account manager for Brian-Kyles Landscapes of Distinction in Lorain.

“People are just eating it up, they’re loving it,” Adams said. With COVID, people want to stay in contact with their neighbors, but safely, so being outside is the better way to do it, Adams said.

It is possible to install gas heathers, like a patio at a restaurant so people can sit outside in Ohio into December. Brian-Kyles had clients in Avon Lake willing to show their projects, one completed in 2019 and one under construction in spring, to be finished this year.

With amenities such as paver paths, televisions, and covered spaces, the process basically adds an open-air room to a house. The costs can add up into the tens of thousands of dollars, even into the hundreds of thousands, Adams said.

Prices are running higher now than a year or two ago due to material shortages, she said. That happens even when you work for builders, Adams said. She citied lumber prices doubling for her own deck project this year.


Into the Woods

Adams said she usually advises against going curb-to-curb with pavers. A solid surface eats up space for planting shrubs or trees that create a natural screen between yards. It may make a backyard look like a parking lot, Adams said.

For landscaping, the formal row of boxwoods is less important. People are tending to want plant life that looks like it has been there a while, that creates a natural area with a forest-like setting. Adams said.


Family Friendly

There are relatively few requests for ponds in Lorain County and neighboring western Cuyahoga County, due to the relatively small lot sizes in cities there, Adams said. But everybody wants a swimming pool and pool companies are booking out three and four years she said.

Youth sports are part of family life, so families are developing sports courts at their houses. That can be leveling ground for a soccer practice space or paving a flat concrete surface for an outdoor basketball court.

Landscape designers can integrate pet-friendly amenities. Adams described installation of an artificial grass spot for dogs with irrigation to wash out urine.


Getting Hungry

With all the difficulties of getting to the store due to COVID-19, people remembered they can grow food themselves. “Growing your own food is a huge, huge thing.” Adams said. People are looking for ways to integrate that into their landscapes.




The team here at Brian-Kyles would like to thank the Morning Journal for their nice writeup.


Brian-Kyles can help you create the outdoor living space you’ve always dreamed of. Their custom design and build team is equipped to handle any project of any size in Northeast Ohio.


Get started on your project today by contacting Brian-Kyles custom design and build team.




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